An Hour Before Eternity
by Super Hero 101
Summary: Loki is brought back to Asgard after the events of the Avengers but he must stay somewhere while his prison cell is finished. Sif is the lucky person who gets to watch Loki for a an hour. But she realizes she has feelings for him. Will they be able to tell each other how they feel? (Sif/Loki) Rated T: minor, very slight suggestive content No swears or intense sensuality or slash!


A/N: Hey guys, I finally got around to finishing my SUPER LONG one-shot that should actually be about five chapters! Oh well! :) Sorry if it's super cheesy...

Warning! You will drown if fluffiness! Intense fluff beyond this point!

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or it's marvel-ous characters :)

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><p>Sif had already been having a bad day. But this- this was just the icing on the cake.<p>

"WHAT?!" Sif exclaimed. Then she cleared her throat, "Forgive me my liege."

Odin nodded. "I can understand your indignation, Lady Sif. But we have no other options. We need to put Loki some place for an hour or so while his cell is prepared and the paper work is finalized. Frigga wants to make sure that he is comfortable."

Odin looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. Sif knew why; even after Loki had betrayed them all and tried to take over Midgard, Queen Frigga was concerned for her youngest son's comfort. Sif honestly thought Loki had it good enough. After all, Frigga had convinced Odin not to execute him.

"But Allfather," Sif pleaded, "Must he wait in my chambers?"

Sif's 'chambers' were more like a Midgard apartment, and consisted of a single, open room. The room had a living-room-type area to the right of the main entrance, and a kitchen area to the left. Then, an extremely short set of stairs led to the next area of the room, which was raised only about two stairs. This 'second level' was wide open and empty, save for two fire places opposite each other against the walls. Another two-stair staircase led from there to Sif's balcony. On the 'second level', there were two doors opposite each other before the fireplaces. The left door was the bathroom and the right one was Sif's bedroom. Sif had added another, smaller fireplace to the living room area.

"My King, why can't he stay in Thor's chambers?" Sif asked.

"Unfortunately, as soon as Thor returns with Loki from Midgard, he will have to go out and protect the Nine Realms. We could not leave Loki alone for an hour or more," Odin replied, "Lady Sif, I am asking you to do this because I believe that you of all people can handle Loki, whether or not he will try to escape us."

Sif sighed heavily and reluctantly said, "Your wish is my command."

"Thank you, Lady Sif," Odin said in an official tone, "My guards will bring Loki to your chambers once he arrives and after I speak with him. I estimate that you have about two hours to prepare."

Sif bowed, and then turned to walk out of the throne room. As she began to walk off to her chambers she bitterly thought, _Paperwork? What paperwork? _She didn't really see how it could take an hour to fix up a cell and do 'paperwork'. What did they need, his mug shot?

Sif stormed angrily into her chambers. She started to put away anything valuable, or anything that could be used as a weapon. Sif made sure to lock her silverware drawer, since knives and daggers were Loki's preferred weapons.

She really had no idea what to expect of him. Before, Loki had been quiet, reserved and almost antisocial, having only Thor, the Warriors Three and herself for friends. Whenever the group was planning to go on an adventure, Loki was the one to hesitate, but finally and grudgingly agree to tag along. Though he wasn't as big as his older brother Thor, Loki had been an asset in a fight, and Sif would have trusted him with her life back when they were best friends.

Now, Loki seemed to be a different person entirely. He was bold, devious and aggressive. He started wars and betrayed his family. And his friends. Loki was dangerous now, and Sif knew she couldn't trust him.

She went into her bedroom, intending on changing into her armor, and out of the gown she had worn to her audience with the Allfather. But a flash of reflected light from her vanity caught her eye. It was her one of her hairpins, the one that also doubled as a dagger. Her eyes drifted up to her mirror. Her hair didn't look very good today; it was a bit bland looking… she'd have to fix it before—

Wait. Sif realized she was worrying about her appearance because Loki was coming. Sif shook her head and tried to convince herself that she merely wanted to look presentable in front of other people.

Sif jumped as someone knocked on her door and shouted, "Lady Sif?"

"One moment!" She called back. They were here already?! She hadn't changed into her armor! She hadn't fixed her hair! Why was this bothering her so much?! Had Loki's appearance changed since last she saw him? Why did she care?!

Sif ran to her closet, and then realized she couldn't just change now. She ran back to her vanity. Maybe she could at least make her hair look alright/

"Lady Sif?" The guard called again.

"Coming! I'm Coming!" She replied as she hastily grabbed her hairpin that doubled as a secret dagger and pulled back some of her hair. AT least she had something to defend herself with. Sif tried to compose herself as she walked to the door. She took a deep breathe, mostly because of all the running around, but she was also a little nervous. Sif took a moment to straighten out her stupid dress, and then she opened the door.

"Commander." Sif said politely.

"Lady Sif." The guard said. He stepped aside and a couple other guards shoved Loki inside. He had his head down, and the guards turned him around to remove his chains so quickly, Sif didn't really even see him.

"We'll be back," The commander muttered. He and the other guards trooped out and shut the door.

"Such pleasant people," Loki muttered.

He turned around. Sif couldn't help staring. After all, they hadn't seen each other in over two years. Loki gazed back at Sif with similar fascination.

Sif noticed that Loki seemed taller and even a bit more muscular. His hair was much longer but it looked… good. She also noticed he had lots of cuts and bruises, and was still a bit disheveled from his battle on Earth.

Loki thought Sif looker prettier than she was the last time he saw her. But he also figured that the flattering dress she was wearing didn't hurt her cause. He also noticed that she had her hair pulled back differently than he remembered,

Loki cleared his throat, "Hello Sif."

"Hello Loki," she replied awkwardly.

They stood there for a few moments. Sif didn't know what to say to him. What did one say to a prisoner they were watching for about an hour that used to be their friend and also happened to be suddenly very handsome? Loki appeared to be looking around at her chambers but Sif figured he was just politely waiting for her to invite him to sit down. But was Loki polite still? Sif hated this feeling of doubting someone she used to know.

Sif cleared her throat, "Uh, would you like to sit?"

"Alright," Loki replied.

They walked over to Sif's living room area and sat on the couches across from each other. There was an uncomfortable pause. Sif realized this was going to be a long hour, or perhaps more, depending on how much Frigga was doing to the prison.

"So…" Loki said after a while, "How are you?"

"Oh, um, I'm fine," Sif replied.

Loki nodded. The awkward silence returned. Sif was getting tired of it. She wished they could just make casual conversation, like old times.

"How are you?" Sif asked.

Loki kind of chuckled and looked up at her, "Well honestly, I could be better," He shrugged, "Could be worse…"

"Mm, you could be on your way to meet the the executioner right now," Sif commented, "It's a good thing Queen Frigga convinced the Allfather to let you live."

"Well I'm glad you think so," He muttered.

Sif felt herself flush a bit. She had kind of meant that it was a good thing for Loki, not just a good thing in general. But she supposed she wouldn't enjoy being at Loki's funeral right now.

Loki cleared his throat. They had been doing that a lot lately. "I don't suppose you'd have anything that I could clean my wounds with, would you?"

"I do," Sif said, "But you can take a shower if you'd like. I don't know if they let you… in prison."

"Well…"Loki replied hesitantly, "Only if it's okay with you."

"It's fine," Sif stated, "Just don't take too long. I'm not sure when they'll be back for you."

"Right." Loki responded. He got up and then said, "Sif?"

"Yes, Loki?" She replied.

"Uh… where exactly would said shower be located?" He asked.

"Oh! Sorry," Sif chuckled awkwardly, "It's that door on the left."

"Ah, thank you," He said. Sif picked up a book as she heard the door close and lock. As she flipped open to a random page, Sif heard the water come on. Sif couldn't comprehend Loki. Maybe it was just men in general that didn't make sense. But he seemed so… pleasant. She had expected him to be either attacking her, glaring at her or not socializing with her at all. She hadn't expected him to be… almost polite and normal-like. He certainly didn't seem like a bad person. But, Sif thought, maybe that was just it. Nobody ever said he was evil. Maybe Loki was just…misguided. But she still didn't trust him.

Sif stared blankly at the pages of the book, reminiscing about old times with Loki. She recalled them being in school together, along with Thor and Fandral. She remembered them doing homework all together, occasionally helping each other with problems someone didn't understand. Sif thought back to when they hung out together in the summer, usually by their favorite river, just glad that school was finally out.

Sif had to try and tell herself that Loki wasn't that person anymore. That had been when they were all young. This was now, and they had all grown up into their respective selves. Loki had chosen a different path than Sif. Their paths were crossing for maybe a little over an hour, and then it was likely that she'd never see him again. Sif sighed. Why was this so difficult to accept all of a sudden? Was she- no, she couldn't be starting to like Loki. That was nonsense. Sif had given up on love after Thor had met Jane. She told herself that she was only interested in Loki right now because she hadn't seen him in such a long time.

Sif heard the door click open and realized she hadn't noticed the water turn off. She figured it had probably been when she was lost in thought. She set the book down on the table.

"How was your-" Sif turned, "-shower…"

Loki walked out of the bathroom topless. A little voice in Sif' head said, _wow, he's really attractive_. Another voice told it to shut up.

"Quite nice, thank you," Loki replied.

"That's… good," Sif managed, trying very hard not to stare.

Loki put his top back on. Sif suddenly realized something. Loki could've easily just put his top on in the bathroom. So why hadn't he? To impress her? That little voice in her head commented that it had work and again the other voice shushed it.

"It's a bit hot in here," Loki commented.

"Do you want to go out to the balcony?" She said, "It's usually cooler out there."

"Alright," Loki smiled. They walked out onto the balcony together. Sif realized it had been longer than an hour, because the sun was slowly beginning to get closer to the horizon. They both leaned on the railing, not quite side-by-side.

"Very beautiful," Loki said.

Sif murmured her agreement. She had thought Loki was commenting on the view from her balcony, but she realized that he was regarding her. She felt suddenly self-conscious in her dress.

"I usually love the view," Sif said, pretending that she hadn't seen him looking at her out of her peripheral vision.

Sif wondered if he was flirting with her. He turned to look out at the view of the sky and Sif wondered why she wasn't feeling on edge. Why wasn't she feeling more cautious and ready to defend herself at any give moment? Why did she feel comfortable around him? He was a prisoner, after all!

Sif closed her eyes as the wind blew into them, and also began ruffling through her hair. She breathed in the fresh air, still wondering why she was so relaxed.

Loki looked over at Sif. He thought she was beautiful. Unbeknownst to everyone but probably his mother, Loki was deeply and hopelessly in love with Sif. Deeply because he had had a crush on her for who knows how long now and hopelessly because Sif had always been in love with Thor. Loki doubted he'd ever have the guts to tell her. Or the chance, now that he was going to spend the rest of eternity in prison. In fact, this was last chance to do anything, probably. What was there to do in prison, anyway?

That was when Loki suddenly noticed Sif's hairpin. If Loki didn't know a dagger when he saw one, then nobody did. Sif' hairpin had to be one of those 'secret' dagger things. Not so secretive to a man who pretty much specialized in daggers.

"You know," Loki said with a smile, "I'm not going to attack you, Sif."

"What?" Sif asked perplexedly, opening eyes and turning to him.

He turned to her, "Your hairpin. It's a dagger."

"It's not a dagger," Sif laughed, trying to make it sound like what he had suggested was absolutely ridiculous.

Loki stepped closer to her. Sif realized her heart was beating faster. He gently reached behind her head and removed the dagger. Sif frowned slightly as her hair fell back around her face.

"Hm… 'It's not a dagger'?" Loki said, "Sure looks like a dagger to me, Sif."

Loki started expertly balancing the end of the hilt on his finger. Sif sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Yes, I would say, in my professional opinion," Loki joked, "That this is a genuine, authentic dagger-hairpin."

Sif folded her arms.

"Why, I'd even bet money that this is a real-"

"Alright, alright, so it's a dagger," Sif replied.

Loki cautiously grabbed the blade and handed the hilt to Sif.

"I'm not going to hurt you Sif," Loki stated.

"I'm sorry, I just…" Sif sighed and then continued, "I just didn't know what to expect…"

Sif stabbed the dagger into the railing and turned away from Loki.

"You just don't seem to be the man I used to know," She murmured.

"I'm not," Loki whispered, "I've changed… and perhaps not in a good way."

Loki wasn't sure why he suddenly felt the need to confide in Sif. He sighed and Sif walked over to him. Hesitantly, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You can tell me if you want," She said consolingly.

Loki sighed (again) and said, "Well… first I should probably tell you that, uh…I'm a Frost Giant."

He looked away from her, either because he was embarrassed or ashamed. Sif was shocked, but she remained where she was.

"I figured you'd be going for that dagger by now," He said, slightly chuckling.

"Well, I'll admit that I'm a bit shocked but it kind of makes sense now," She said, "I mean, your hair is darker than any one else's on Asgard. And you've always been smaller… which makes no sense, actually, if you're a Frost _Giant_…"

Sif saw a hint of a smile play across Loki's face, "I've been trying to figure that one out myself."

"When…and how did you find out?" She asked.

"Remember when we went to Jotunheim? On Thor's coronation day?" He replied. Sif nodded and he continued, "Well, long story short, a Jotun grabbed my wrist and my arm turned blue instead of getting frost bite. Then I asked Odin later and he told me that I had been abandoned as a child. I was left on a rock to die, but then Odin found me after the war and brought me here, to Asgard. But he only saved me so that I could become a peace treaty with Laufey because… it turns out that I'm Laufey's son."

"You're Laufey's son?" Sif repeated and then commented, "So your real name is Loki Laufeyson?"

"I suppose so… but then it made sense to me, why Thor has always been favored over me. And then, I don't know, I guess something inside me just snapped and I let the Jotuns into Asgard to kill Odin. I was so filled with jealousy… Thor has been treated better than me, he's always been better than me in general… everyone always loved him more then me…" Loki paused, "I started the violence and then found that I couldn't control it. I couldn't stop it… not here or on Midgard…"

Sif realized how much it must have hurt to be the lesser brother, to always have someone be better than you at everything.

"I couldn't think clearly on Earth," Loki continued, "The Tesseract was like a parasite to my mind… almost like I was just watching the whole thing but knowing that in reality, I wasn't. That I was still calling the shots. It was very confusing, to say the least… and it didn't help that I was filled with fear because if I didn't get the Tesseract … they were going to kill me."

Sif wasn't exactly sure who 'they' were but she didn't press the matter.

"And then I come back here and Odin orders my execution," Loki said, "I'm only alive because of Frigga… she's the only person who loves me…"

"She's not the only one," Sif heard herself say.

Loki turned to her with a kind of stunned expression in his eyes.

"What- what I mean to say was," Sif quickly stammered, "That I, uh, I care about you as well, Loki."

Loki smiled down at his hands on the railing and quietly replied, "I care about you, too, Sif."

On a sudden impulse, Sif decided to hug Loki. She used her hand on his shoulder to turn him gently towards her. Then she put her arms around his neck and leaned her head up against him.

Loki was practically in shock. Sif liked Thor, it was just a simple fact of life! And yet here she was, hugging Loki for what seemed to be no apparent reason. Sif could tell that Loki was experiencing a small amount of shock, seeming as he just stood there for a couple moments. Eventually, he put an arm around her waist and a hand behind her head. Sif looked up at him. His eyes were so green…

Sif suddenly realized that they were leaning towards one another. Something inside her was screaming, "That's Loki. He's your PRISONER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Yet something else was telling her to close her eyes and keep leaning towards him.

Suddenly, Loki let her go and turned away. Sif was confused. Weren't they supposed to be kissing now?

""We can't…" Loki began weakly.

"What? Why can't we be in love?" Sif exclaimed.

They both froze. Had she really just said that? Sif felt light-headed all of a sudden. 'In love'?

"Sif," Loki walked over to her, "I'm… I'm not good enough for you-"

Sif began to say, "I-"

"Listen to me," Loki cut her off firmly but gently, "I'm a Frost Giant, I'm a murderer, I'm a war criminal-"

"And I'm the _goddess _of war, Loki, I don't care." Sif exclaimed, "Because before you were all that, you were my friend."

Sif put a hand over Loki's that was on the balcony railing. He looked up at her.

"And don't try to tell me you don't feel it to," She said.

Loki looked in the opposite direction, "Feel what?"

"That…" Sif searched for the right word, "Warm, almost hopeful feeling inside whenever we touch… whenever we look into each other's eyes…"

Loki looked at her. Then he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes," he replied, "I feel it too."

"Then why don't you accept it?" Sif asked hotly, "Loki, if you have any feelings for me, please, just tell me—"

Loki put his other hand behind her head and pulled Sif into a kiss. AT first, Sif's eyes widened in surprise but soon she closed them and put her arms around Loki's neck. Sif hoped if the guards arrived, they would knock instead of just barging in.

Something in side of Loki was telling him that he was going insane, or that this was an impostor or that this was just a very, very realistic dream. After all, didn't Sif like Thor?

And then Loki had to remind himself that Sif had basically just admitted that she was in love with _him_.

Sif leaned away, " Loki… they probably won't let me visit you in prison."

"I know," He replied quietly.

"Then… I guess this is the last time we'll see each other," She said sadly.

"Perhaps," Loki responded, "Perhaps not."

"If I do see you again," Sif joked, "Don't be surprised if I pretend this never happened."

Loki chuckled, "And I'll just say that it's good to see you, too, Sif."

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><p>AN: Whoo, you finally finished! Good for you! (But really, that was seriously long). Anyway, hope you liked like and it wasn't too, too fluffy...

Don't you wish that actually happened? I do... please review! Thanks for reading!

If you love Sifki like I do, you might want to check out my other fic, Truly Madly Deeply. And if you like Sifki, Loki, Bucky, Once Upon a Time, and Captain Hook you should definitely check out The Club by Jedi Gone Bounty Hunter co-written by yours truly! :)


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